Diaspora: Mike, Dance, and Everything Else: In Savigny-le-Temple, a Studio That Changes Lives

Mike Flereau Lumene didn't grow up with many role models. Dance helped him stay on his feet. Today, through MNT Studio Dance, he helps local young people find their own balance. Nicolas Sok turned his story into a documentary, Danser pour exister (Dancing to Exist), slated for 2026. Through portraits, local roots, and solidarity, the film shows what really happens behind the doors of a dance studio.

"Dance didn't save me. It taught me how to stand."

It sounds like a slogan, except it's true. Mike didn't write it to look good. He lived it. As a kid, he had no blueprint, no plan, no safety net. Just instinct and the need to keep moving.

Dance came along more or less by chance. Not in a grand theater, not under spotlights. In an ordinary room, with a slightly worn floor, mirrors, and a sound system that sometimes crackles. But in that space, something shifted.

His body began to say what words couldn't. Fatigue, anger, frustration, but also pride, joy, relief. Mike realized he could turn his energy into movement. And that movement could carry him forward.

MNT Studio Dance: a framework, a team, a chance

Years later, Mike opened his own studio, MNT Studio Dance, in Savigny-le-Temple. On the sign outside, it might just say "dance classes." But inside, something else is at stake.

Some young people come for the style, the music, the pleasure of moving. Others come because they need a place where someone expects them, where people know their name, where they're not dropped the moment they make a mistake.

Dance imposes a rhythm: warm-up, repetition, correction, performing in front of others. It sounds simple, but for a teenager who doubts everything, managing to hold a choreography from start to finish is already a victory.

Mike doesn't play the perfect teacher. He's there, present, demanding when needed, mostly supportive. He knows what it's like to grow up without many chances. So he doesn't promise glory. He just offers a path.

A documentary glued to reality

Nicolas Sok, director and videographer behind Lounico Production, didn't try to overdo it. No dramatic music to force emotion, no voice-over explaining everything, no reenacted scenes to make it look "cinematic."

He set up his camera and let things happen. Rehearsals, glances, silences, laughter, moments when things get stuck and moments when they take off. The film runs 52 minutes, but it feels like spending several months in the studio, watching progress, doubts, small victories.

The style is immersive, almost intimate. You're not watching a "social issue" piece. You're with Mike, with the young people, in their everyday lives. That's what makes the documentary so powerful.

Savigny-le-Temple and beyond in the spotlight

The film was shot in Savigny-le-Temple, Moissy-Cramayel, Melun, Saint-Pierre-du-Perray, with some scenes in Paris. But it doesn't stop there. It also touches on connections with Cuba, Haiti, and Madagascar, reminding us that the stories of these neighborhoods are often stories of movement, migration, and multiple roots.

The idea isn't to make another "about the suburbs" film with the usual cliches. It's to show a territory that's moving, with concrete initiatives, people mobilizing, young people just looking for a chance.

MNT Studio Dance becomes a symbol. Not the only one, of course, but an example of what's possible when you put energy, time, and sincerity into a project.

A screening, conversations, and a gesture for Cambodia

Around the film, the team is preparing a real event. The main screening is planned at the Espace Prevert cinema in Savigny-le-Temple. Another is under discussion at La Rotonde cinema in Moissy-Cramayel.

The program is simple but effective:

- Screening of Danser pour exister (52 minutes)

- Q&A with Mike and Nicolas Sok

- Discussion with the audience

- Presence of local associations and journalists

But what makes this evening special is its solidarity goal. All ticket sales revenue will be donated to help renovate a dance school in Cambodia, through associations like Hip Hope Community, Rombak, and Tiny Toones.

It's a beautiful way to close the loop. Dance helped Mike build himself here. Thanks to the film, it can also help other young people, over there, have a place to learn, rehearse, and push themselves.

A film to show in schools

Beyond cinemas, the documentary is designed to travel. It could be screened in middle schools, high schools, community centers, youth clubs. Because it speaks directly to young people, but also to teachers, educators, parents.

It shows that culture isn't a luxury. That in some life paths, a dance workshop, a studio, an association can change a trajectory. Not overnight, not like magic, but little by little, session after session.

Later, the film should also be available online (YouTube, social media) and submitted to documentary festivals.

Why this film matters

Danser pour exister isn't trying to give lessons. It doesn't say "this is what you need to do to succeed." It just shows a man, a studio, some young people, and what happens between them.

It also reminds us that local stories can have a wider reach. What's happening in Savigny-le-Temple, in this studio, speaks to other neighborhoods, other cities, other countries. Because everywhere, there are Mikes. And everywhere, there are young people who need a place to exist.

Practical information

- Title: Danser pour exister (Dancing to Exist)

- Format: 52-minute documentary

- Director: Nicolas Sok - Lounico Production

- Protagonist: Mike Flereau Lumene, founder and president of MNT Studio Dance

- Locations: Savigny-le-Temple, Moissy-Cramayel, Melun, Saint-Pierre-du-Perray, Paris

- Main screening planned: Espace Prevert Cinema, Savigny-le-Temple

- Solidarity goal: 100% of ticket sales to renovate a dance school in Cambodia

- Contact: Nicolas Sok - 06 88 19 60 23 - lounicomarketing@gmail.comContact : Nicolas Sok – 06 88 19 60 23 – lounicomarketing@gmail.com